Friday, March 28, 2008

Here's a lesson I've learned recently, and hopefully I can share my experience with you and perhaps you'll avoid the same mistake.

When you want to buy something and make an informed decision, do all the research you can on what you want, make a firm decision. Then STOP researching!

I searched for months for something and got basically what I wanted for approximately what I expected to pay for it. But I made the mistake of continuing to look, even after I had completed my transaction.

It has brought me nothing but heartache. I keep seeing different options I could have gotten, even worse at better prices.

I developed habits from the searching. It was entertaining...the "thrill of the hunt." When I bagged my prey I should have stopped hunting. But the habits needed to be satisfied.

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I'm feeling the same way about poker. I still play occasionally out of habit, but it is not at all satisfying. I have a miniature bankroll so it's virtually impossible to record a win that would be significant and leave me feeling satisfied. But I still manage to beat myself up for my mistakes when I play badly. I make excuses like I'm out of practice and rusty, when in reality I know I'm doing the wrong things because I just don't care enough to do it the right way.

You don't need a large bankroll to get satisfaction from playing poker. You can make up for it with a significant investment in TIME. And I'm just not willing to give that much time to poker. The time requirements to satisfactory levels of poker play are VERY SIGNIFICANT. Add up the hours that a person would have to invest to play every event of the BBT3. That's a big chunk of someone's life they're giving up for this silly game.

I get a lot more satisfaction from doing a myriad of other activities. I usually fire up a poker table when I know I won't have a lot of time and I'm too lazy or bored to get off my ass and do something else.

I am going to try to make an effort to stop doing that in the future. I need to be less wishy-washy about my time, wandering aimlessly with no goals. I need structure. Organization.

I keep reading posts from right wing nutjobs who claim Obama's lost their vote because of his association with Rev. Wright.

Rev. Wright is definitely a polarizing figure. He preaches HATE. Sure, it's hatred of racism, but what the hell! He makes great sound bites. God DAMN America!

I'm sure Obama will miss all those right wing votes he was DEFINITELY going to get before this SCANDAL! I'm sure he's crying in his campaign headquarters right now. "Oh SHIT! I've probably lost the racist vote too! And I was counting on them!"

Obama's relationship with Wright shows very poor judgment. How can he have a close relationship with someone who has strong opinions? How dare he! Doesn't he know that means he endorses every one of those opinions?

All my invisible internet friends are hereby warned. All you fucking degenerate gamblers and alcoholics are PUT ON NOTICE. I don't know you, I don't agree with you on anything, and I CERTAINLY DON'T ENDORSE YOUR LIFESTYLE. In fact, you should all be ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES for what you believe.

I certainly don't want my friendships with you to reflect poorly on my judgment.

Just imagine how badly people would think of you if you displayed monstrously poor judgment like...oh...I don't know....A DUI? Cocaine use? If your judgment was so poor that you did those things, you could never be trusted to do anything. Especially be President.

Monday, March 10, 2008

When I tell people that I like to gamble online, inevitably the first thing they ask is "Is it safe?" I'm always honest with them and I say that it CAN be safe, if they do a little bit of research. This is especially critical if you are in the U.S. The options for American players is much more limited than it is for International players, which makes it more important that you know the details about where you are going to put your money.

One of the places you can do research is TopUsaOnlineCasinos.com. TopUsaOnlineCasinos.com is a FREE guide to help US Players find safe and fun online gambling destinations.

The site features a ranking system for Online Casinos. The Casinos are ranked by pro poker and blackjack players. Rankings are according to bonus size, payout rate, customer support, number of games, number of deposit options, quality of graphics and ease of use.

The front page of the site shows the top 10 list of online casino sites, with some scoring as high as 9.8 and 9.7 out of 10 rating points. While size of bonus is an important factor in the ratings, there are other very important details, evidenced by the fact that the largest bonus ($999) is not in the number one spot.

The site also ranks some online poker rooms and online sports books that cater to the United States bettors.

If you're looking for some info about online casinos, give them a try.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Blogging can be a humbling experience. When you start blogging you assume nobody is reading. Eventually just about any blog will pick up an audience just by posting routinely. It's actually that simple. If you post they will read.

But how many are reading? You have your hit counter. But what about RSS syndication? I like to be able to look in Bloglines and Google Reader to see how many people subscribe to my less-than-daily dribble. Subscribing is like an endorsement, it's not just randomly hitting a page from a Google search. It's like saying "I want to see what this guy has to say in the future." Very flattering.

So I want to thank the 70 people in Bloglines and 45 folks with Google Reader that have designated this cynical chunk of internet as something they want to see whenever it is updated.

Maybe I should be apologizing for the dizzying disarray of my thoughts lately. But I won't because I don't expect it to get any better, and if anything I am all about low expectations.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

I love reading all these posts on blogs about politics. Politics is all about hatred and fear, and everyone know I loves me some hatred and fear.

Here's how you post about politics. Figure out who you hate, and proceed one of two ways:

1. Post what you hate about that candidate.2. Post what you like about his opponent, but sure it's really a dig and the one you hate.

And repeat.

My favorite from today: McCain will win because OH NOES if he doesn't we will have socialized medicine!

Wake the fuck up! Just because we have a president that advocates something doesn't mean he magically gets his way! The current president said he would reform social security....what happened? He even had both houses of congress on his side and he couldn't get that done. And that's something that EVERYBODY AGREES needs to be addressed! And the results? NOTHING.

That's why it's all about hate. It's certainly not about results. Just figure out something that people hate, or even better something they fear. Even if you have to make it up. You're going to hear it from both sides. Obama is a Muslim. McCain is a senile lobbyist fucker. Hilary is a crook.

Everyone is trying to scare you into hating the person they hate. But hate doesn't work that way. It's not a rational thing.

I don't hate any of the potential candidates. I think any of the three potential candidates will do a perfectly adequate job. They won't really have the ability to make a substantial change in the way the country works.

I'm not going to try to convince you to vote for one person over another, because I simply don't care.

What I'm trying to convince you of is that if you're reading something and someone is trying to convince you to vote for one person over another, that person is probably full of shit.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

At the plant where I work they have a new procedure to ensure the quality of the paint on your new car. Apparently some personal hygiene products can cause "craters" in the paint if they are exposed at certain times in the painting process.

Every employee has to go through a "crater test" where a painted section of metal is rubbed on your hair, underarms and other assorted locations on your body to make sure you are not using a product that causes problems in the paint process. There is a specific list of banned substances, mostly because they contain silicone or a few other similar materials. Antiperspirants and hair care products seem to be the main offenders.

All of my coworkers have gone through the process. I missed my opportunity because I was busy having a temper tantrum at a completely innocent person over a supplier issue. After my meltdown I rescheduled my test for tomorrow morning, and someone just stuck their head in my office and told me there will be television cameras in there when I take my test.

It was strange the way she told me. She definitely wasn't ASKING me if it would be okay if I was video taped while I took the test, but after she informed there would be a television crew there she seemed to wait for my approval before she removed her head from my doorway. It did make me feel better when she looked at my friend and coworker Jim and said "You too."

I have no idea what channel will broadcast my embarrassing procedure, but if I find out I will be sure to let you know so if any of my readers in the Nashville area (total estimated: 0) can watch me be humiliated on television.